The Ex-Taxi Driver at the Center of Russia’s Shadow War
The Kremlin’s sabotage campaign against European allies of Ukraine has been escalating. It needs people like Aleksei Kolosovsky, 42, to carry it out. A 2024 arson attack outside Warsaw was one of several plots carried out in Europe by a criminal network on behalf of Russian intelligence services, according to European officials. Credit... Norbert Ofmanski/Associated Press By Michael Schwirtz and Adam Goldman Michael Schwirtz and Adam Goldman have investigated Russian intelligence operations for more than a decade. For this article, they traveled to eight European countries, gathering information about the Kremlin’s sabotage campaign. The New York Times , Feb. 22, 2026 Updated 9:02 a.m. ET The plots, say Western security officials, are part of a shadow war by Russia’s intelligence services. An arson attack that destroyed more than 1,000 businesses outside Warsaw. Another that burned an IKEA in Lithuania. A plan to put incendiary devices on cargo planes in B...